I have been debating, contemplating and more than anything shoving my desire to pen down my thoughts, for a very long time now. I've had several reasons or rather excuses for this - couldn't lock down a theme that would make this blog work, lazy and din't give a damn, and mostly self-critical after working in Social Media. Its also probably worth mentioning that there has been a lot of movement in the last 5 years and although not an excuse to not write, it surely has been a journey of exploring myself and finding myself in new situations everyday. To summarise the last 5 years of my life - I was in India apparently studying Journalism and Communications but what it really was is a lot of travelling and a paid vacation for 3 years. I then moved to Abu Dhabi in 2009 to work in the crazy world of Advertising and life was pretty much like living in the set of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, partying every day and enjoying the perks of making my own money. Not done with the crazy Uni life, I decided to move to Leeds in September 2009 and had a crazy wicked time there. Exploring the campus, uni night outs, meeting loads of new people, mid-night junk food sesh and travelling around parts of England that really summed up life until September 2011. And suddenly reality struck once my savings were exhausted and the pressure of getting a job built up again, and then I decided to move to the capital city of London in October 2011 to make a living. Still here and definitely in a better place than how I started off. Life has transitioned so much in the last one year that this deserves a solace post on itself.
Looking back at the last post I wrote 5 years ago, I really can't tell who that person was. It strangely doesn't feel like me anymore and it's interesting to see the amount of fire, anger, passion and confusion I had. A lot of it doesn't apply to how I think today but clearly has made me what I am today. I was tempted to start my blog again from scratch, mostly embarrassed from my 20 year old passionate plea, but hey that's me and there is no shying away from who you are. I also still love the name "mywhitecanvas" and it still means a lot to me. It signifies everything I have done in since I moved out of home 7 years ago in May 2006. I have lived on my own terms, seen things for myself, made friends who became family, witness true colours of people, seen success and failure, happiness and death, and mostly used my judgement to decide what's right and wrong (or at least try to). And that's what my white canvas is all about - it's my attempt to start with a clean slate, to paint a new picture, to see life differently and from others eyes, to create a new story, a new passion or much more. Strangely, it was an idea that came after a visit to a palmist in the temple town of Udupi, India for a history project. While everyone had rather precise things told to them he said to me, your hand is like a kora kagaz, meaning a blank paper and that if I set my heart upon something I really wanted, I could make it happen. He also added, when God made me he was in a hurry and didnt spend much time thinking - weirdly enough the whole experience was pleasant and unpleasant at the same time and I remember feeling the latter more strongly in days to come.
After all these years of contemplation, I've finally come to realise that I don't think my blog could have a single theme. I am just not that person. When I try to live every day as a new day, why should my blog have a theme. I don't like themed parties, don't like doing things because that's the norm and hate the idea of a routine (although my life in London is mostly a routine). If anything I've learnt about myself is that I like to try new things and I am always up to explore. And today I pride myself in saying that I am not a person who very often says "NO" to trying something new!
I find inspiration in several things and that's what this space is going to be. It could be one off my travel adventures, or my love for food, a random idea or an observation in my 45 minute tube and bus journey home, maybe some fashion/tech reviews, a trigger of some kind of emotion or just something new I've learnt with the many interesting people I know in this the fabulous city of London. It's going to be one big mash-up!
